worry
worry Lexical Profile
worry Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A state of mental uneasiness, anxiety, and uncertainty over actual or potential problems.
"Her face showed signs of constant worry as she waited for the medical test results."
A source or cause of anxiety, trouble, or concern.
"Financial instability was their biggest worry during the economic downturn."
• verb
To feel or experience anxiety, uneasiness, or concern about an actual or potential issue.
"Parents naturally worry when their children are out late at night."
To cause someone to feel anxious, troubled, or uneasy.
"The sudden drop in quarterly revenue began to worry the board of directors."
To tear at, gnaw on, or drag around with the teeth (especially of a dog or other carnivorous mammal), or to chase and harass livestock.
"The terrier continued to worry the old rubber shoe in the backyard."
• Rhymes for worry
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English wyrgan ('to strangle' or 'to choke'), which evolved in Middle English to describe a dog seizing and shaking an animal by the throat, and later shifted figuratively to mean 'to harass' or 'to feel mental distress'.